Snap Gets Patent Board Victory in Messaging Technology Dispute

The company behind the social media platform Snapchat succeeded in a Patent and Trademark Office challenge to invalidate parts of a rival’s electronic messaging patent.

The agency’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board Aug. 30 axed six claims in Vaporstream Inc.'s U.S. Patent No. 9,313,156, which Snap Inc. had challenged in a proceeding called an inter partes review. The board found that the claims were obvious in light of prior inventions or publications, and therefore unpatentable.

The decision is part of a years-long row between the companies fought in both district court and before the patent board. It illustrates how ...